It seems that Microsoft is dipping its toes into other fields with its AI technology, specifically the gaming kind if a new report is to be believed.
According to an unnamed source from Semafor (opens in new tab) and reported on by Neowin (opens in new tab), Microsoft may be planning on developing a new AI model with the task of allowing gamers to control their characters and tasks using natural language. This feature was reportedly showcased during an internal Microsoft meeting.
Apparently, this task has been more difficult than first planned as some sandbox tasks can be done in multiple ways and the AI model itself could even develop alternate methods to accomplish tasks in the game.
The Semafor article does state that Microsoft has no plans to add this AI control to any public builds of Minecraft, though AI researchers have used the game to test out their tech including OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
The possible pitfalls of AI in Minecraft
Though this report did state that Microsoft wouldn’t use its AI tech in a public version of Minecraft, the idea of this sort of AI demo isn’t unique either if this video later posted on Twitter by WalkingCat is accurate.
It certainly has some amazing applications, allowing players to instantly build beautiful structures and easily control their characters is an excellent accessibility option. But as that video points out, there could end up being coding issues which only those with experience debugging could fix.
There’s also plenty of room for misconduct, as players could summon inappropriate symbols, structures, or worse instantly, and an AI could be trained to harass other players as well. Hopefully, Microsoft continues to keep its research behind closed doors until these kinks are worked out.
